JOHNSTON CITY — In what felt like a 15-round heavyweight prize fight, the Johnston City Indians held on to beat Fairfield 28-26, ending the Mules’ 37-game Black Diamond Conference winning streak.

This is the game area fans did not get in the spring. The teams did not play due to the shortened Covid season. Both teams finished unbeaten.

Now in the fall, they met in Week 3, in a game that lived up to the hype. This game featured a little bit of everything–kickoff return touchdowns, turnovers, touchdown passes, touchdown runs, bone jarring hits, did we mention turnovers?

Noah Barger returned the opening kickoff 84 yards for a Mules’ touchdown. Austin Brown returned the opening kickoff of the second half 85 yards for an Indians’ touchdown. Brown, the Wisconsin commit, set the tone defensively, delivering hard hits from sideline to sideline. \

Heath Neibch threw a touchdown pass for Johnston City and ran in the go ahead score and as well as the most important two-point conversion. The Indians’ Corbin Hickey led all receivers with 7 catches for 149 yards and a TD. Fairfield sophomore Jay Mooring led all rushers with 121 yards on 12 carries and a TD. Mooring had replaced senior Camden Robbins who had to leave the game in the first quarter with an injury and did not return.

The Indians forced five Mules turnovers, the last two coming in the final 3:30 of the fourth quarter with Fairfield having a chance to potentially take it in for the go ahead store. The end result was a Johnston City win, ending Fairfield’s winning streak that began October 7, 2016.

Both teams are 2-1 on the season. Fairfield must go back on the road next week to face unbeaten Flora. Johnston City will be at home to take on Hamilton County.